Yes! I am an "Escapist"!

Thanks to the opening chapter of J. Maarten Troost's Getting Stoned With Savages, I now understand why I am the way that I am. I am always trying to get away from it all: get lost on vacation, get lost in a bottle of tequila - you name it. Bart has never understood why - when our life is so great (which it is) - why do I always want to get away? Now I get it - it's becuase I am an escapist.

As Mr. Troost points out, an escapist doesn't want to get ahead. He/she just wants to get away. I totally get that.

Unfortunately, uprooting my whole family and moving to an island in the South Pacific isn't really realistic. Especially since adventure and risk are not hallmarks of the man I married. (Hence our great life and lifestyle - lack of risk and adventure does have some benefits...)

Last week I read about this family sold their house and all their belongings, quit their jobs, bought an RV, and plan to spend the next year travelling the country together. Is it weird that I found that appealing?

Is it weird that sometimes I think about selling our 2300 square foot house, with 2 car garage, 2 1/2 bathrooms, and swimming pool, in order to buy a really small house somewhere on the water? Could we live in 1300 square feet if all of the windows looked out on the Gulf of Mexico?

I admit that we could probably do well - quite well - with a LOT less stuff. But some days I feel like the kids are right on top of me, even with 2300 square feet. And don't even get me started on the cost of the insurance for living by the water in Florida. It would most likely be more than the mortgage, that is IF you can get anyone to insure you at all.

I had a dream last night that we bought a Houseboat and lived on that. (This is what happens when you read Troost at bedtime.) How cool would that be? Not much to clean (considering that I'm blogging right now just to avoid cleaning the remaining 2100 square feet of my house I didn't get to yesterday...) No big elaborate meals in a galley. Want to go somewhere - pull anchor and head out. Need dinner? Grab a fishing pole. There are some definite benefits.

No wonder I woke up with "If I had a boat" by Lyle Lovett on the brain. Damn Troost.

But alas - that's not our path right now. Bart works from home, and needs to have good proximity to an airport. The kids go to school and I work .4 miles from the house. The school is EXCELLENT. We have all the modern conveniences nearby (except for a decent sized bookstore.) The beach is 20 minutes away. Downtown is 20 minutes away. Disney is close by. I could walk to the 2 grocery stores and about 10very decent restaurants if I wasn't so lazy. It's a good place to live.

That doesn't stop me, though, from humming "If I had a boat, I'd go out on the ocean..." for the rest of the day.

"Kiss my ass I bought a bought, I'm going out to sea..." ;)